Voting-machine.



No. 777,755. n PATENTED DEC. 20, V1904. B. T. SEELYE.

VOTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.31.1904.

N o MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET l M4 -Y f j m l No. 777,755. PATENTBD DBC. 20,1904.

' B. T. SEELYE.

:VOTING MACHINE.

. APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 31. 1904.

NO MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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w ...agmwf- Patented December 20, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

BYRON T. SEELYIC, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VOTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,755, dated December20, 1904. Application filed March 31, 1904. Serial No. 201,004.

To all wha/1t it muy concern.:

Be it known that I, BYRON T. SEELYE, a citizen of the United States,residing at 3333; Flournoy street, in the city of Chicago,county ofCook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Voting-lllachines, of which the following is such afull, clear, and exact description as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use my said invention.

My invention relates to voting-machines, and is particularly applicableto machines of the type shown and described in United States Patent No.667,807 for a voting-machine, granted to William A. Swaren February 12,1901.

The purposes of my invention are to provide a chamber-plate having' aseries of reserve chambers each adapted to contain a number of balls,said chambers being so disposed on said plate as to be respectivelyregistrable with suitable apertures Yin a dropping plate in operativerelation to perforated slides controlling the deposit of the ballsintounderlying ball-boxes, and to provide means of improved construction foragitating the balls contained in a hopper above said chamber-plate, soas to cause the filling of the chambers in said chamber-plate.

Iith these purposes in view my invention consists of the novel featuresof construction and combinations of parts shown in the annexed drawings,to which reference is hereby made, and hereinafter particularlydescribed, and finally recited in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a top plan of a voting-machineembodying my I improvements. Fig. 2 is a Vertical longitudinal sectionon the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section online 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the underside of the chamber-plate. Fig. 5 is a Vertical transverse section onthe line 5 5 of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view oftwo of the agitators detached.

Similar reference-letters designate like parts in all of the views.

The devices herein shown and described are modifications andimprovements of the apparatus set forth in United States Patents Nos.667,806 and 667,80T,granted to 7. A. Swaren, February 1Q, 1901, and aredesigned to render more effective and reliable the dropping mechanismset forth in said patents.

rFhe main structure of the voting-machine consists of a suitable cabinetA, having al horizontal partition A separating an upper compartment afrom' a lower compartment a. Perforated slides B slide between guides C,secured on the upper surface of the partition A'. A hopper D, havingpartitions d, is su pported within the cabinet by suitable standardsel', secured on thel part A. rIhe lower edge of the hopper lies somewhatabove the upper surface of the slides and guides, so that the slides maymove freely under the hopper. The part A is perforated by a number ofseries of holes a2, overlying and registering eX- actly with openings ein ball-boxes E, respectively, underlying the slides B. y The partitions(Z divide the hopper into a series of compartments each containing asupply of balls. A eut-off plate F, of suitable material, in thicknessslightly exceeding the diameter of one ball, is situated and isfreelyslidable transversely between the dropping slides and the dropping plateand `is pierced by a number of series of holes y", which correspond innumber to and are registrable with the perforations a2 in the plate A.The holesf are each adapted to contain only one ball at one time.

The chamber-plate H forms the bottom of the hopper and has an umber ofseries of chambers z., each adapted to contain two or more balls. Thechambers /t being adapted each to contain a multiplicity of balls,certainty in [illing the holes in the cut-off plate is assured, becausethere will always be in each chamber one or more balls in position tofall into the corresponding hole in the cut-off plate whenever the holein the cut-ofil vplate is brought in registry with the chamber in thechamberplate. In order that the chambers may have the proper depthwithout unduly increasing the weight of the plate, the chambers have Iannular walls each projecting downwardly from the under side of theplate, as shown. The chambers /r are respectively in registry IOO withthe perforations a2 through the partitional plate A.

In order to assure proper and constant lilling of the chambers L, lprovide stirrers K. rlhe stirrers K are of metal and have longitudinalslots', which accommodate screws /L or equivalent device connecting' thestirrers with the plate H, so that the stirrers may slide freely on topof the plate. Each of the stirrers also has a series oflaterallyprojecting and upturned fingers lf, corresponding' in numberand position to the chambers /1/ in the plate H. Each of the stirrersalso has a screwthreaded shank lf and nuts fitting on the shank on eachside of the stirrer-bar, so as to adjustably connect the stirrers K withthe stirrer-bar M. The stirrer-bar M is secured on one side of andextends upwardly above the cross-piece M'1 and has a series of notchesm', corresponding in number with the number of stirrers, the shanks ofthe stirrers being slidable in the notches m. The shanks of the stirrersare connected with each other by a connecting-bar M5.

There are several important practical advantages in the describedconstruction of the stirrersviz., the stirrers being in the samehorizontal plane with the stirrer-bar M the shanks of the stirrers passhorizontally through the bar, and by turning' the nuts 1 the stirrersmay be adjusted longitudinally to bring the fingers 1 in proper relationto the chambers I, in the plate H.

1t will be observed that the stirrer-bar M has a directly-horizontalpush and pull on the stirrers. rlhe stirrer may therefore be made ofthin metal and yet have such rigidity that the stirrer will not springout of position or become displaced in use. The stirrers being made ofthin metal, as described, the horizontal members of the lingers areadapted to freely slide under the balls in the hopper, and the thinedges of the fingers cannot engage with the balls, so as to causelocking of the stirrers. rl`he vertical members of the stirrers separateand agitate the balls, so as to cause them to roll into the chambers t.rlhe screws /L' guide and prevent lifting' of the stirrers.

Rack-bars M are slidable in suitable supports m on the sides ofthecabinet and are operated by cog-wheels M2, secured on the revolubleshaft M3. The cross-bar M'i connects the rear ends of the outer pair ofrackbars M, and the stirrers K are connected with the cross bar, ashereinbefore described. Then the Vlower shaft M3 is turned forwardly,the bar M. travels forwardly. During the first part of this forwardmovement the notches m of the bar M slide under the shanks 7a2 of thestirrer K. During the latter part of this forward movement the bar Mengages with the enlarged parts at the base of the shanks :v2 and slidesall of the stirrers simultaneously forward. Then the lower shaft M;i isturned rearwardly, the bar M moves rearwardly and in doing so engagesthe nuts 7c3 on the shanks 7J! to simultaneously move all of thestirrers K rearwardly. It will be seen then that each reciprocation ofthe rack-bar causes a corresponding movement of the stirrers, and thestirrers agitate the balls and cause a constant and uniform filling ofthe chambers in the plate H.

'I am aware that the stirrers have been used to stir the balls in thehoppers of voting-machines. I therefore do not claim that featurebroadly, but restrict my claim to the novel features of constructionherein set forth.

Having fully described my invention, what l claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A stirrer for voting-machines, having a shank, nuts fitting on saidshank, and laterally-projecting upturned lingers; in combination with achamber-plate in operative relation to ball-receptacles, connectingdevices connecting said stirrer with said chamberplate, a stirrer-barwith which said stirrers are connected, and means for reciprocating saidstirrer-bar, as set forth.

2. A chamber-plate for votingmachines, having a number of chamberssurrounded by annular walls projecting downwardly from said plate, eachchamber being adapted to contain a multiplicity of balls; in combinationwith ball-receptacles, dropping slides, a reciprocable cut-off plate,and reciprocable stirrers having laterally-projecting lingers inoperative relation to the chambers inside the chamber-plate, as setforth.

3. lIn a voting-machine, the combination of a cabinet, ball -receptaclesin said cabinet, rack-bars mounted to slide in said cabinet, means forsliding said rack-bars, a stirrer-bar connecting said rack-bars,stirrers mounted and adjustable on said stirrer-bar, a stationarychamber-plate having a number of series of chambers each adapted tocontain a multiplicity of balls, dropping slides having perforationsregistrable with the openings in said ball-receptacles, and areciprocable cut-ofil plate between said chamber and said slides andhaving' perforations corresponding to and registrable with the chambersin said chamber-plate, as set forth.

ln witness whereof l have hereunto sub-- scribed my name, atBloomington, Illinois, th is 23d day of March, 190A.

BYRON T. S'EELYE. lNfitnesses:

F. M. FoLLieK, Jon MEANS.

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